"Dear Stannis, Loving a man like you is like sitting on a throne as hard as a rock, waiting for warmth," the laughter of the room echoed as Robert read one of the love letters Stannis had received, imitating a woman's voice. Stannis gritted his teeth and cursed Lady Delena Florent, who had written this ridiculous letter. He didn't care much about the sycophants inside, but it was truly frustrating to see even Ser Barristan holding back his desire to laugh.

"Your Majesty, there are important news about the navy." Stannis wanted this nonsense to stop immediately.

"Wait a minute." Robert raised his hand. "Here comes the best part. Listen: The furrow of your brows is a work of art, your silence is like poetry. They say you never smile, but I know, deep down, you've smiled at least once."

This time, the entire room burst into laughter, even Ser Barristan couldn't hold back. Stannis clenched his fists in anger and silently swore that he would close the door to any letter from the Reach from now on.

After the Maidenpool council, Stannis had become one of the most popular marriage candidates in Westeros. Especially the lords of the Reach wanted to marry their daughters to Stannis, hoping to secure themselves in the protection of the Three Kingdoms Alliance in the upcoming civil war. After Robert married Lady Alara Prenrose and made her his queen, the only options left for lords who wanted to link themselves to the Three Kingdoms Alliance were Benjen Stark and Stannis. As a result, the marriage proposals to Stannis had aggressively increased, and he had started to be drawn into various political schemes.

While Stannis was walking normally along the Storm's End shores, suddenly a young lady would cling to his arm, pressing her chest against him and casting flirtatious looks, or she would pretend to faint in front of him, trying to create a romantic scene once he held her up. Stannis didn't know what to do in such situations and found himself in a position he never imagined: asking his older brother for advice about women. He needed his brother's 'wisdom' to get rid of these irritating ladies without stepping outside of his knightly honor. Although the training he received from the King had been unpleasant for Stannis — the fact that the King had time to deal with such silly matters was a whole other topic — it had certainly been helpful, and Stannis' life had become easier.

Stannis briefly wondered whether Benjen Stark was dealing with the same issues, but after thinking about it for a while, he concluded that this was unlikely. After all, Winterfell was far away and cold, and these crazy Reach ladies wouldn't travel all the way there to marry. Or would they? Actually, no, Queen Catelyn was a conservative woman; she wouldn't let such women into her home. Stannis decided that Eddard Stark's brother was a lucky bastard.

Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn had closed the door to any relationship with the Reach at the Maidenpool council, and Robert, like a docile man, listened to what they had said. This caused some unrest among the Stormlords, especially as rumors spread about the suspicious intentions of the other two kingdoms' rulers. However, their voices weren't very strong; the nobles of the Three Kingdoms Alliance were all men who had fought together against the Targaryens, and their bond wouldn't break easily.

Still, Stannis wholeheartedly approved of this decision. Marrying Janna Tyrell and binding the Reach to Storm's End seemed like a great opportunity on the surface, but the situation wasn't that simple. The Stormlander army had lost a significant number of soldiers after the Trident War, and they would need time to rebuild. They didn't have the resources to devote to the Reach's civil war. The Reach was on the verge of exploding, and even if they joined the Three Kingdoms Alliance, this situation wouldn't change.

Even if Storm's End somehow managed to hold onto the Reach, there was the matter of the Tyrell family. The Tyrells were wealthier than the Baratheons, owning more land and having more soldiers. A vassal house wealthier and with more soldiers than the royal house was absolutely unacceptable. In such a country, who would take the king seriously? The Tyrells' word would dominate the country's governance, even more than the king's.

In short, the Reach was an unnecessary investment right now, and even if successful, the returns were risky. Furthermore, Stannis was personally eager to witness the war where the Reach bubble would burst and the Tyrells would fight for survival. He still remembered how Mace Tyrell had held a grand feast in front of the starving garrison during the Storm's End siege, and now it was Stannis' turn to do the same. Stannis was not a vengeful man, but he would definitely do it with great pleasure. With great pleasure. And then, he would go to the temples of the old and new gods and thank them for their justice.

"Brother," he said finally. Stannis had long since learned that, to be taken seriously by his king, Robert had to stop addressing him with royal formalities and begin speaking to him informally. "There's important news about the Stepstones."

At this, the room fell silent. The war between the Triarchy and Dorne had become the main topic of the Three Kingdoms Alliance lately. Dorne was losing the war, as expected. Under normal circumstances, the Stormlords wouldn't have cared what would happen to Dorne, but the situation with the Stepstones concerned Westeros' trade security. Ships trading with the western shores of Westeros had to pass through there, and in addition, pirates who had settled on those islands were harming the trade relationships of Gulltown and White Harbor, both with Essos and with each other. After King's Landing had disappeared, Westeros' internal trade map had been crippled, and especially the Reach lords were in a bad situation as they had lost their flow of gold. Despite everything, this was one of the main reasons they were preparing for war. Allowing the Stepstones to be taken would make an already bad commercial situation even worse, and it was something that couldn't be allowed.

"Hmm, yes, the Stepstones. Ned wrote to me that this matter was extremely important. Alright, let all the unnecessary bastards get out," Robert commanded. Stannis wanted to shout, 'You're the king! Does Ned Stark have to tell you to pay attention to matters of the realm?!'

"What's the latest news?" the king asked after the room had emptied.

"The Triarchy has taken Bloodstone after a long effort."

"Fuck..." Robert muttered. "If Bloodstone has fallen, it won't take long for the rest of the islands to fall as well. Those Dornish bastards deserve credit; they've fought well."

Stannis nodded in agreement. His brother was many things, but he was never a bad warrior. There was no need to explain the importance of Bloodstone to him.

"What do you think, Barristan?" Robert asked.

"Your Majesty, personally speaking, I really can't forget Bloodstone," said the Stormguard Barristan Selmy. "Bloodstone is the heart of the Stepstones, and it's of critical importance to those who want to take the islands. Moreover, the island itself offers a natural defense against attacks from any direction. Even if there were only a small number of soldiers there, taking it would require accepting serious losses." Barristan shook his head. "During the war against the Blackfyres, even though we had three to four times as many soldiers as the enemy, we still had to struggle for a long time to take Bloodstone, and we suffered many losses. Your grandfather, Ormund Baratheon, was among the casualties."

The room fell silent. It was a well-known tragic story that during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, their grandfather Ormund Baratheon had died in his son Steffon's arms. The Baratheon ancestors had made many sacrifices for the Targaryens, but they had never been rewarded, and all their services ultimately returned as betrayal.

"Well, if it were up to me, I would take the navy and attack immediately, but I swore I wouldn't start a war without Ned and Jon's approval," said King Robert. "The Driftmark meeting is in three months, right? We'll discuss this issue then. I'm sure they have a plan in mind."

Driftmark, yes, had been chosen as the gathering point for the first of the royal meetings planned to take place every five years, at House Velaryon's home. When Stannis first heard the news, he was shocked, like many other lords, but once he learned the reasoning behind the choice, it made sense.

After the Greendoom disaster, the reputation of three houses in Westeros had been severely shaken: House Velaryon, House Celtigar, and House Hightower. The Hightowers were privileged to be protected by the Faith of the Seven, but Velaryon and Celtigar had no such opportunity.

The same situation did not apply to the Baratheons, whose grandmother was Targaryen. First of all, no one wanted to oppose a royal house. Secondly, despite the claim that their distant ancestor, Orys Baratheon, was the bastard brother of Conqueror Aegon, the Baratheons had never asserted Valyrian heritage, and they had no Valyrian phenotypic traits either. The Baratheons, aside from their name, were entirely the continuation of the Durrandon legacy, and this was a widely accepted truth throughout Westeros.

Well, the Celtigars were somewhat better off than the Velaryons. After all, they had always been ignored by the Targaryens when it came to marriage matters. Every time, without exception, the Targaryens had chosen the Velaryons. This issue had always been frustrating for the Celtigar family, but looking at it now, it seemed like a great blessing. The Celtigars had lost their Valyrian silver hair long ago and now looked more Andal than Valyrian.

The growing Anti-Valyrian movement was mainly composed of illiterate, uneducated peasants. These people distinguished the Valyrians only by their silver hair and purple eyes, with no knowledge of the noble houses' history—except for the legends like the Starks. They didn't think the Celtigars were Valyrian because they looked Andal, but this advantage didn't mean they were free from all the problems. There were also noblemen and maesters who supported the Anti-Valyrian movement, and they were well aware of the Celtigars' historical roots.

The Velaryons, however, did not have the same advantage as the Celtigars. They resembled the Targaryens entirely with their silver hair and purple eyes. The daughter of Lord Velaryon had been brutally murdered in Highgarden because of this appearance. Westeros, their homeland for a thousand years, had become a death trap for them. Many lords from the Stormlands were conspiring for the Velaryons and Celtigars to suffer the same fate as the Targaryens, and the new lord of the Crownlands, Storm King Robert Baratheon, had no intention of protecting them. In short, these two houses were walking a fine line, and if things continued as they were, they would be exiled from their homeland

Aware of how critical the situation was, Lord Monford Velaryon and Lord Adrian Celtigar met and spent several days discussing how to escape their predicament. In the end, they decided to use their advantages. Despite being shunned by much of Westeros, the Velaryons and Celtigars still possessed powerful fleets and a treasury filled to the brim.

Lord Celtigar and Lord Velaryon, accompanied by a large protective army, first visited the Eyrie and then Winterfell, where they personally met with King Jon Arryn and King Eddard Stark—(for obvious reasons, they did not go to Storm's End). Their offer was not only very clever but also highly beneficial for both kings.

They wanted the Three Kings' Meeting to take place in Driftmark, and in return, they would cover all the costs of the meeting without compensation. Additionally, they would organize a grand tournament at their own expense. But that wasn't all. In exchange for reminding the other lords that the Velaryons and Celtigars were loyal, Westerosi, and would never again serve the Targaryens, they would gift the Three Kingdoms Alliance fleet 50 warships. Furthermore, they pledged their full support in a forthcoming war at the Stepstones.

Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark were already concerned about the economic harm caused by the growing Anti-Valyrian movement, so they had no reason to reject such a proposal with such great advantages. Robert grumbled for a while, but when he heard about the great tournament, he agreed as well. The Velaryons and Celtigars knew they would spend a lot of money on this meeting, but they would regain some of the prestige they had lost after the Greendoom. Once their loyalty was publicly affirmed by the three kings, the threat of exile from Westeros and the destruction of their houses would largely disappear. In short, everyone was pleased, except for some grumbling Anti-Valyrian lords.

Stannis, as the admiral of the Three Kings' Alliance fleet and lord of Dragonstone, had been frequently visiting Driftmark over the past year, patrolling the surrounding seas to ensure the safety of the waters. He arranged both protection and secure routes for lords and kings traveling to the region by ship, ensuring that the Three Kings' Meeting would take place without issue. Of course, the possibility of betrayal from the Velaryons and Celtigars was not something Stannis was expecting, but if they tried something— even if they succeeded— it would mean their complete loss of power in Westeros. Nevertheless, Stannis' tight control was reassuring to many lords worried about their safety, and the Velaryons, wanting as many lords to attend as possible, had no problems with the situation.

The meeting would take place in three months. The fleet, led by Stannis, would first pick up King Eddard from White Harbor and then King Jon Arryn from Gulltown. Both kings would be protected by nearly a hundred ships. Since the distance between Storm's End and Driftmark was not very far, Robert would also travel by sea.

The Three Kings' Meeting was not just about the kings; many lords would also be present, and representatives from other kingdoms would be sent as well. Oberyn Martell would attend in person to represent Dorne. Robert was especially excited because he would be bringing his one-year-old twin children, Argilac and Argella, to the meeting. The children would meet Robb Stark and Allyria Snow, -Sansa Stark was too young to travel.- Robert was very eager to arrange a marriage between his daughter and Robb Stark.

In short, it was a meeting that offered many opportunities to form trade and marriage alliances. Driftmark would become the heart of politics and economics in Westeros for the entire month of the meeting.

Stannis knew that Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark were planning something for the Stepstones campaign. He also knew that a very important guest from Tyrosh would be present at the meeting. It had been nearly five years since the war, and although the wounds had mostly healed, the issue of troop numbers was still problematic. The majority of the Stormlands army had been lost during the Trident campaign, and even now, they could barely muster 20,000 soldiers.

Stannis let out a deep sigh, knowing that the coming months would be busy and exhausting. Robert often said that, in such times, it was the duty of a wife to help her husband. Stannis didn't know what his brother meant by that, but perhaps it was indeed time to take a wife.